Brokers Offer Predictions for Herc’s Q1 Earnings (NYSE:HRI)

Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI) – Equities researchers at KeyCorp issued their Q1 2026 EPS estimates for Herc in a report issued on Tuesday, December 16th. KeyCorp analyst K. Newman forecasts that the transportation company will earn $1.06 per share for the quarter. KeyCorp has a “Overweight” rating and a $200.00 price objective on the stock. The consensus estimate for Herc’s current full-year earnings is $12.84 per share. KeyCorp also issued estimates for Herc’s Q2 2026 earnings at $1.78 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $8.40 EPS.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Herc from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Herc in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Baird R W raised Herc from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Citigroup increased their price objective on Herc from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Herc from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.86.

Herc Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:HRI opened at $153.90 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $136.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $130.40. Herc has a 52 week low of $96.18 and a 52 week high of $212.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.28, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.22. The company has a market cap of $5.12 billion, a PE ratio of -61.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.81.

Herc (NYSE:HRI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 2nd. The transportation company reported $3.42 earnings per share for the quarter. Herc had a negative net margin of 1.68% and a positive return on equity of 16.32%. The business had revenue of $745.00 million for the quarter.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Herc in the second quarter valued at approximately $242,697,000. Coliseum Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Herc by 213.4% during the 1st quarter. Coliseum Capital Management LLC now owns 1,309,989 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $175,892,000 after purchasing an additional 891,979 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Herc by 24.2% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,709,718 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $488,533,000 after purchasing an additional 723,239 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Herc by 362.8% in the 2nd quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 700,402 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $92,236,000 after purchasing an additional 549,072 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Herc by 135.6% in the 1st quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 589,817 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $79,195,000 after purchasing an additional 339,519 shares during the last quarter. 93.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Herc Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 26th. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. Herc’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -111.11%.

Key Headlines Impacting Herc

Here are the key news stories impacting Herc this week:

• Positive Sentiment: KeyCorp upgraded HRI to an Overweight / Strong‑Buy and set a $200 price target (~30% above the recent price). The firm also raised detailed quarterly and full‑year EPS forecasts (multiple Q4‑2025 to Q3‑2026 and FY2025–FY2026 estimates), signaling analyst confidence in near‑term earnings recovery. The Fly
• Neutral Sentiment: Sector/industry coverage mentions — Zacks highlighted Herc in an industry outlook alongside peers, and Seeking Alpha published a longer piece framing 2026–2027 as a “transition year” with potential for earnings power to build. These pieces provide analyst/industry context but contain mixed near‑term implications. Seeking Alpha Zacks
• Neutral Sentiment: Trading activity is elevated vs. average (higher volume), which suggests the KeyCorp news is drawing investor attention even though price is falling — could indicate profit‑taking or rotation. (See intraday volume vs. average in market data.)
• Negative Sentiment: Balance‑sheet and margin concerns remain: HRI carries high leverage (debt/equity ~4.3) and has reported a negative net margin recently. The stock still shows a negative P/E (losses on a trailing basis), leaving valuation and credit risk as potential headwinds for some investors.
• Negative Sentiment: Short‑term disconnect: despite bullish analyst notes and a sizable $200 target, the market has pushed the share price lower today — likely driven by broader market moves, profit‑taking after recent run‑up (1‑yr high ~$212), or investor caution around cyclical demand for rental fleets.

Herc Company Profile

Herc Holdings Inc (NYSE: HRI) operates as a leading equipment rental provider in North America, offering a wide range of machinery and support services to construction, industrial, government and event sectors. The company’s fleet includes aerial work platforms, earthmoving equipment, material handling solutions, power generation units and specialty tools, enabling clients to scale their operations without the capital expense of ownership. In addition to basic machinery rentals, Herc provides value-added services such as equipment maintenance, on-site safety training and project consulting to help customers optimize productivity and maintain compliance with industry standards.

Founded as part of Hertz Global Holdings, the equipment rental business was spun off as an independent public company in early 2016.